Why you should go to a Cirque du Soleil show

My Cirque du Soleil fascination started in architecture school. One of my projects was to design a tower for the company’s headquarters in Canada. For inspiration, I watched hours and hours of shows and from then on I really wanted to go see one! One of the biggest reasons I would recommend a Cirque performance to anyone is the fact that they do not use animals. A lot of people boy cut circuses because of the inhumane conditions that animals are kept in or trained in. Thankfully, this is not something that Cirque engages in.

My very first Cirque du Soleil show was a touring show titled Toruk: The First Flight. The tickets were bought almost two months in advance and I was super excited. It was based on the movie Avatar with the blue people. The decor, props and costumes went right past the visual – in one scene when the flowers blossomed the air was filled was a sweet scent and I was absolutely mind blown that they went to the extent of appealing to your sense of smell as well.

My second show was La Nouba which was a resident show in Orlando. It ended with 2017 and I read somewhere that Disney and Cirque are in talks about a new show for Orlando. This show had clowns – no bueno for me but thankfully they did not come too close. Cirque shows go beyond just acrobats and contortionists but you will also get to see musicians perform live whether they are drummers or singers.

My most recent show was another touring performance called OVO which translates to egg. It was like watching the circus version of the Disney movie A Bug’s Life. There were ants, fleas, crickets, a spider and the costume design for each insect was nothing short of spectacular. The props even related to insect life.

I am especially taken by the different layers that go into every single production. Apart from the performers there are so many different people and processes that happen that you do not see in the 2.5 hours that you’re there for a show. The design aspect – whether it relates to the stages and sets, the costumes, the choreography and then how every individual aspect must all come together to create a seamless performance just amazes me.

Having watched three separate shows, I can assure you that you will see similarities between the performances in each show. However, seeing one show definitely does not mean that you have seen them all. The performances come in a few different formats. There are resident shows in Las Vegas and Riviera Maya; and there are a dozen or more touring shows all over North America, South America, and Europe and you can go on the website and search by city to see if one will be near you anytime soon.

I️ am still hoping to see Luzia and Amaluna so my fingers are crossed that they will tour through Florida. I wanted to see Varekai too but the performances ended with 2017. My fingers are crossed that the company will bring them back for another round of tours in North America.